AEW's Hangman Adam Page Looks Back On 'Grueling' Experience In NJPW's G1 Climax

Hundreds of wrestlers have attempted to tackle New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament, but only a few have ever succeeded. The likes of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi are former winners of the round robin competition, but some people might not remember that Hangman Page competed in the 2018 tournament. Despite only picking up six points, beating Togi Makabe, Bad Luck Fale, and Minoru Suzuki along the way, Page opened up about his 2018 G1 campaign during a recent interview on "SHAK Wrestling," stating that it was a great learning experience.

"That was one of the first times I felt like I got to be a part of something that was historic, that had prestige," Page said. "It was an honor to get to be a part of something that I remember reading about when I was a kid, like this prestigious tournament. It was grueling, it's tough because you are either wrestling a singles match that might go 15, 20, 30 minutes, and then a long ass bus ride, and then you might have a tag [match] the next day, but then you're right back to the singles again. The expectations are so high from fans and of yourself, the expectations are so high, but it felt like halfway through, at least for me, felt like 'Oh yeah, maybe the points aren't necessarily all there, but like I'm hanging, I'm doing well.' So that was a big confidence builder for me.

Page was extremely proud of himself for being able to grow as a performer in a country he still didn't feel like he knew that well at the time, as well as being around a group of people he didn't know that well either. However, it was an experience that boosted his confidence heading into the first All In, his final months in ROH and NJPW, and the beginning of AEW.

Please credit "SHAK Wrestling" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.